John Waring

This article was written by fellow lamp engineer and collector Edward J. Covington, and originally appeared on his own website of biographical sketches of persons involved in the lamp industry. Following his passing in February 2017, and with kind permission of his family, Ed's words have been preserved here in the hope of maintaining access to his writings for the benefit of subsequent generations.

John Waring

Biography
One of the lamps that received considerable litigation attention in the year 1893 was the "Novak" lamp, which was designed by John Waring. The design was patented on May 9 1893 (US 497,038). The lamp contained a residual amount of the gas bromine, which, under the right circumstances, was meant to affect the discoloration on the bulb. The lamp was produced for only a short time. Of interest here is the inventor. An obituary of Mr. Waring follows, as taken verbatim from the American Electrician, Vol.XIII No.7, Jul 1901, p.31:

"John Waring, president of the Franklin Electric Manufacturing Company, Hartford, Conn., met with an untimely death on June 9 as the result of a gasoline explosion in a small attached building at his company's works on June 7. Mr. Waring would have suffered no serious injury from the explosion but for his chivalry in going back into the burning building to save two of the girl operatives in the experimental department. His burns were not serious, but it developed that he must have inhaled the flames, and the most strenuous medical efforts did not avail to prevent his death. Mr. Waring was born in Wisconsin 39 years ago; he graduated from Cornell University and went to Hartford about 10 years ago, at which time he brought out the Waring incandescent vapor lamp, which became well known. The wide use of this lamp was prevented, however, by suits for infringement brought by the Edison interests. After remaining in Hartford for some years, he went to Manchester and was associated with the Mather Electric Company until that company discontinued operations. He then returned to Hartford and was associated with the Perkins Electric Switch Company. About a year ago he formed a partnership with Mr. Jonathan C. Camp, and established the present business of the Franklin Electric Company. Mr. Waring leaves a mother and sister".

The photograph of John Waring was scanned from an obituary that appeared in Electrical World and Engineer, Vol.XXXVII No.25, Jun 22 1901, p.1093.